The company said that President Clinton and CEO Michael Dell will talk about technology's potential to create happiness and success around the world.

"Today, technology often sets the foundation for growth in business, achievements in life and positive change in the world," Dell said in a statement.

The president is not an unfamiliar face on the technology convention circuit, having spoken at both the CTIA Wireless conference and Wired for Change this year. He himself is not a techie, however, telling the audience at the latter event that he sent a total of two emails during his presidential tenure, according to Fast Company. (One was to American troops in the Adriatic, and the other was to astronaut and former Sen. John Glenn, during his encore spaceflight in 1998.)

In another respect, however, the liberal former president is a somewhat surprising choice for a Dell keynote speaker -- CEO Michael Dell is a longstanding supporter of the Republican Party, having served on President George W. Bush's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and contributed substantial amounts of money to prominent conservatives like President Bush and Sen. Mitch McConnell.

Dell World, which is scheduled for Dec. 11-13 at Austin's convention center, is focused on IT professionals and Dell customers. The company says that the aim is to foster understanding of new technologies and technological solutions to real-world problems.

Email Jon Gold at jgold@nww.com and follow him on Twitter at @NWWJonGold.

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